Page 16 of Faking Ties
“Does it matter?”
“Of course it does. I can’t fake date you if you’re going to embarrass me. I need you to be loyal in the way I’m sure you can be. I refuse to be cheated on.”
The server comes in with our food, and I’ve never been happier for an interruption than now. Stella’s worried I’ll cheat on her, but she also believes I’m capable of being loyal. No one ever assumes the best in me, but somehow, she does.
“Were you cheated on before?” I ask once we’re alone. The thought of someone cheating on her causes my blood to boil, but that doesn’t make sense. I don’t even know her. There’s no rational reason for me to be feeling protective of her, and yet, here I am.
“It doesn’t matter.” She tries to blow off my question, but it clearly matters by the way she jabs her knife into the meatball with a force that makes me not want to get on her bad side.
“For the record, I’m not a cheater.”
“Whatever you say.” She makes a face as she says it, as if she doesn’t believe me.
“I’m serious. I may sleep around, but the women I’m with know it’s a one-time thing. It’s a stress reliever,but if we do this, I can guarantee I’ll be loyal to you. Hell, I’ll agree to almost anything if you’d just say yes.”
“Football means so much to you, doesn’t it?”
“It does,” I say. “I can’t have my career cut short because of my past mistakes.”
“But are they mistakes? You made your image and even leaned into it. You’ve been successful with this bad-boy thing you’ve got going on, so why are you wanting to change it now?”
“Because Evren hates me. You saw the articles; they’re not positive.”
“So? Have you ever cared about it before? It’s made you money.”
“You’re right, it has. But it’s not serving me anymore. Sure, an image overhaul will help me play for another year, but I’m on the edge of retirement. Being the bad boy has made getting sponsorship deals challenging because not every brand wants to work with me or be associated with me. As much as it pains me to admit, I do need to think about my life after football ends. That means setting myself up for more opportunities.”
She’s silent for so long that I fidget with the napkin in my lap. She’s going to decline my offer. I’m going to have to find another way to impress Evren and?—
“Okay, I can work with that,” she says simply. I give her a confused look and she sighs. “I could actually use a fake boyfriend to help with Jax, to make him jealous. He has a new movie coming out, and I was stupidenough to make the soundtrack for it. Now, I have to attend the upcoming promotional events, and I need a buffer while I’m at them. That’s where you’ll come in since the media loves our supposed relationship already.”
“I’d be happy to help. Do you know when the first event is?”
“Not yet, but it should be soon.”
“My first event will be at Evren’s house. He’s planning a team BBQ before our first game.”
“I’ll be there,” she says. “How long should we date for?”
“My preference would be until February so I can finish out the season.”
“Fine.” Something crosses her face too fast for me to read. “We’ll need our managers to draw up an NDA and contract for us.”
I nod. “Anything else?”
“Nope.” She chugs her glass of wine, as if the conversation is grating on her nerves.
“Thank you for doing this.” I take her hand in mine, a spark zipping through my skin and into my blood. “I promise I’ll be the best fake boyfriend there is.”
“Don’t make me regret this.”
I nod and promise myself to make sure that doesn’t happen. She gently extracts her hand from mine and we eat in comfortable silence for a few minutes before I ask, “So do you really hate football, or were you joking last night?”
“I don’t hate the game.”
“But?”
“Growing up, the players were like gods in my town, and I was their favorite target. They reveled in my discomfort, spreading rumors about me.” She shudders and chugs her drink. “Their laughter was a constant, taunting echo in the hallways, and no one believed me when I called them out. I was an outcast, and they made sure I stayed that way.”
